Water is Water
by Dark Seraphim
Summary: Requested for a livejournal community. Yugi explores his relationship with both Seto Kaiba and Yami Yugi. Told in second person. One shot.


_Author's Notes: Whoa. This one was tough. It's barely over a thousand words and yet I think this was the toughest fic I've ever written. I think it's because even though I do ship Yami/Yugi, I do not ship Seto/Yami, much less the three of them together. Despite wanting to tear my hair out, I am pleased with the result. Maybe I'll do better the next time I'm requested to do a similar fic(this was requested at ygoficathon at Livejournal). I use the dub names since that's what I'm most familiar with._

Water is water. At least that's what you think. It's common knowledge, after all, but you learn to know better. After all, Seto Kaiba is a great teacher, even though he never means to teach you anything. You think of him as the Arctic ocean or the ocean that surrounds the great Ice Shelves of Antarctica. Regions so cold that air easily passes through no matter how hard you try to protect yourself. His eyes alone have that effect, but you've always seen more than just a deep blue ice shelf. He's like a millpond, really, but you learn from a different teacher that still water can often run deep.

Your Yami, or your "other self", the "darker half" is pretty much fuel for a hurricane. Warm waters with wild waves and shades of green and blue mixed into a color that you honestly can't name, except it's beautiful, just like your Yami. Then again, the Arctic Ocean is beautiful too, only when it isn't covered in pure, white ice, it's a deep, grayish blue. It's all water, so you'd think it'd be all the same, but you learn to know better. After all, you're Yami is a great teacher and he always means to teach you and everyone else something.

You tend to think that such extremes could never mix. You learn on your own that opposites have a strong tendency of attacking, which is precisely what Seto Kaiba has been doing for quite awhile. Most people dismiss Kaiba as being nothing more than an enemy to be everything from perfectly hated to feared, but you feel neither and your Yami feels the same. It's always been that way. You and your Yami have always seen Kaiba as a friend and you know that beneath the Arctic Ocean, he feels the same about the both of you. You never have any luck getting him to admit that though, but you expect this.

What you don't expect is Kaiba considering himself the only one worthy of Yami in a way that goes well beyond the dueling rivalry. Seto Kaiba is everywhere you want to be and everywhere you need to be. He is the "Mata Hari", the eye of dawn. He knows all about you, he sees all about you and yet he knows as much as you about the origins of your Yami. You're not sure he even cares. Most people would see Seto Kaiba's behavior as very creepy or outright stalkerish, but neither you nor you Yami see it that way. The both of you know what runs beneath Kaiba's millpond heart.

Unlike the Millennium Puzzle, Kaiba is actually not too difficult to solve. It's all about reading between the lines and looking closely into his eyes. Easier to say than to do, but you do it anyway because your Yami does the same. That's how you manage to solve Seto Kaiba in ways he could never solve himself. He proves far easier to solve than the mystery behind your other half. You agree with Yami when he describes the famed CEO as a crumbling tower, strong yet vulnerable, haughty yet often humbled as it is surrounded by the wild ocean. Everytime you see Seto Kaiba, you understand where your Yami is coming from. When you look into those blue eyes, you see more than just the desire for dueling glory.

It's not just lust. Kaiba cares deeply for the both of you. It's not just the desire for dominance. He will not allow anyone to harm either of you. He always give reasons that deny anything other than, "I don't like owing anyone any favors", but both you and your Yami know the truth, especially once outside of your Grandpa's shop.

Kaiba's hands are cold when he touches your Yami. Just as you expect. You are in the Puzzle itself and seeing things through Yami is like watching a television with a screen that almost entirely surrounds you. The effect is accentuated by the fact that you also feel what Yami feels and you can't help but like it. Before anyone can see, Kaiba grab's Yami's hand and heads towards a light blue sports car convertible. You don't know what kind of car it is and you don't care, but when Yami sits in the passenger's side, you feel relaxed in the soft seat.

You don't know where you are being taken, but you feel safe. No matter what resentment Kaiba may feel for the both you, you know that he would never hurt you on purpose. Yami is looking straight ahead, clearly fascinated at the signs and the buildings in Domino City. You're a little surprised that you would be in a car that exposes all occupants, but the wind feels so good against Yami's hair that you stop caring. You realize that Seto Kaiba never cared to begin with as he is leaning back against the seat, his slender fingers drumming against the steering wheel. He is speeding. You know it, Yami knows and you don't doubt that Kaiba knows it too. Just that none of you care since you feel like you're in a dreamworld where Yami has a body of his own and Seto Kaiba actually admits that he loves Yami and ultimately, you as well.

"Where are you taking me?" Yami asks and you're suddenly curious as well.

"You'll see." Is Seto Kaiba's only reply. He never takes his eyes off the road even for a second.

When you reach the docks of Domino City, you gasp. Only your Yami hears you as all Kaiba parks right in front of the area where you once dueled Joey Wheeler, one of your best friends. All you can see is the ocean as it sparkles like gilded glitter under the setting sun. Both and your Yami wonder why Kaiba takes you here, but the two of you realize that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why. No one is here but the three of you and you are in the Puzzle, unable to communicate with anyone, except for your Yami.

Seto suddenly grabs Yami's hand and holds it to his chest. You could swear that you could feel his heartbeat under the black, long sleeved shirt. You know that Yami feels it. Kaiba's eyes are shut and his head his down. Beyond that, no one moves, but you can still see the ocean. You realize that the Arctic and the warmer waters mix quite nicely right here in Domino City.


End file.
